Dear Editor

Opponents of candidate Sebastian Ridley-Thomas in the upcoming 54th District Assembly race are drilling sideways to extract whatever votes they can from a tapped-out campaign.

Without an appealing platform, they’ve used an old campaign trick in an attempt to manipulate voters: Make an empty pledge and demand your opponents do the same. We once heard former President George H.W. Bush declare, “Read my lips… no new taxes,” only to backslide once in he was in the White House.

Bravado may sound good during a campaign, but candidates know that promises they can’t keep are dishonest, at best. Nonetheless, a candidate’s “I’ll ban…” promise tries to put their opponents in a bind – either tell voters what they want to hear, even if it’s deceptive, or appear to lack conviction.

It is easy to promise to introduce a bill banning ‘fracking’ in California; knowing it was tried at various times and failed to pass; and further knowing it won’t pass in the legislature as its members are currently composed. The promise is pointless.

According to all verifiable accounts, there is no fracking in the Baldwin Hills Oil Field, nor has there been since 2011 pursuant to a settlement with Culver City and three additional plaintiffs. Mr. Armenta should know this. He served a member of the Culver City Council at that time. So, why doesn't Armenta tell the truth about the matter, and stop misleading and scaring well-intentioned people?

The current operator of the Inglewood oil field does not have a permit to use fracking at its site. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas has said he does not support permitting fracking at the oil field. The implication that Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, the front-runner in this race, is in the pocket of the oil field operator because of alleged contributions is patently false and frankly offensive.

The public record speaks for itself: There is no contribution from Freeport McMoRan to the Sebastian Ridley-Thomas for Assembly campaign (or any other Ridley-Thomas campaign for that matter). Sebastian's campaign support is broad, diverse and deep – from nurses to firefighters, teachers to environmental leaders and business people to grassroots activists. To view his overwhelming support and endorsements, go to http://www.sebastianforassembly.com.

Christopher Armenta either doesn’t know the legislative history of earnest attempts to ban hydraulic fracturing or he is engaging in demagoguery. His struggling campaign tries to use Mr. Ridley-Thomas’s age against him. In this campaign, it is Mr. Armenta who needs to grow up and tell the truth or be prepared to face the facts from the voters on Election Day.